JR Swift
VIP Whale
Random thoughts since I seem to just feel like posting all day (watching the clock countdown)...
I read a lot of people online who are very upset about getting a smoking/nonsmoking, king/two queen, bad view room when that isn't what they requested. Well...uh, as they say in the fine print, it is just a request. Obviously, if there are 1000 people who want king/smoking rooms with great views next to the elevator and there are only 100 of those rooms, somebody is going to be disappointed...no matter how many 20's they slip the desk clerk. You can up your odds of success by looking around a bit. A few hotels have a much larger number of nonsmoking rooms for instance than others...but there aren't going to be any guarantees...particulary when the hotel is full.
Some hotels get a really bad rap on some of the websites and I guess it is because some people are a lot pickier than I am. Heck...a hotel would have to be pretty filthy not to be an improvement over my normal living conditions. OK...I'm a slob. But people complaining about not getting great maid service while they are staying at a hotel confuse me. Do these people really scrub their toilets and change their sheets every day? Now...if it's someone else's filth, that's different...but, if it is just my own, I kind of like it.
That brings me to service. Yeah...I know...service just ain't what it used to be...or is it? I work in a service industry (retail) and I can tell you that there are as many "bad" customers as employees. I would say that 95% of an employees' time serving the customer is spent with the 5% of the customers who "seem" to have so many problems. Granted, the customer is always right...but if the customer servant seems a little harried or grumpy, keep in mind what he or she may have just had to deal with. A little kindness goes a long way...on both sides. And the worst complaints seem to come from people who expect the world...but don't want to pay for it. A massive hotel complex, no matter how much staff, has to be a nightmare to operate. Communication is absolutely key and is the easiest piece of the puzzle that can get lost. Many of the employees are recent immigrants (how many of your neighbors aspire to be maids?) and it must be very difficult sometimes both for them and their managers. Mistakes will be made and bad employees will be hired...hopefully someone who can fix problems will get the message and do so...but, sadly, it doesn't always happen.
OK...how does this really relate to Las Vegas...well, if there is any place on earth that has a larger service industry, I don't know where it is. And it really can't be easy to find good people to fill all those jobs when the talent is spread so thin. People (and hotels) make compromises just to put people in the uniforms and they have to...sad, but true. It must, at times, be an absolutely thankless job.
So...I guess I just wanted to rant on those topics because maybe it will help a few people understand the bad things that sometimes happen. Is it an excuse? No...but it is an explanation. I'm sure there are places it rarely does and those places are typically pretty pricey (Four Seasons, Hyatt, Marriott?)...you do get what you pay for sometimes. Anywhere else, you are making compromises of one sort or another...price, location, attractions, etc. Keep that in mind and it is much easier to just enjoy yourself and let the small stuff go. I haven't always stayed in the finest hotels in Las Vegas but I've always enjoyed myself and rarely had a problem that wasn't manageable. You're on vacation...relax.
Hope I didn't step on too many toes with all this "stuff"...frankly, most of the comments apply more to things I've read on other boards or comment areas (tripadvisor, las vegas online, etc.) much more than to the vast majority of people here...who are almost all extremely friendly and helpful...even to people they've never met or even heard of before.
For what it's worth...
I read a lot of people online who are very upset about getting a smoking/nonsmoking, king/two queen, bad view room when that isn't what they requested. Well...uh, as they say in the fine print, it is just a request. Obviously, if there are 1000 people who want king/smoking rooms with great views next to the elevator and there are only 100 of those rooms, somebody is going to be disappointed...no matter how many 20's they slip the desk clerk. You can up your odds of success by looking around a bit. A few hotels have a much larger number of nonsmoking rooms for instance than others...but there aren't going to be any guarantees...particulary when the hotel is full.
Some hotels get a really bad rap on some of the websites and I guess it is because some people are a lot pickier than I am. Heck...a hotel would have to be pretty filthy not to be an improvement over my normal living conditions. OK...I'm a slob. But people complaining about not getting great maid service while they are staying at a hotel confuse me. Do these people really scrub their toilets and change their sheets every day? Now...if it's someone else's filth, that's different...but, if it is just my own, I kind of like it.
That brings me to service. Yeah...I know...service just ain't what it used to be...or is it? I work in a service industry (retail) and I can tell you that there are as many "bad" customers as employees. I would say that 95% of an employees' time serving the customer is spent with the 5% of the customers who "seem" to have so many problems. Granted, the customer is always right...but if the customer servant seems a little harried or grumpy, keep in mind what he or she may have just had to deal with. A little kindness goes a long way...on both sides. And the worst complaints seem to come from people who expect the world...but don't want to pay for it. A massive hotel complex, no matter how much staff, has to be a nightmare to operate. Communication is absolutely key and is the easiest piece of the puzzle that can get lost. Many of the employees are recent immigrants (how many of your neighbors aspire to be maids?) and it must be very difficult sometimes both for them and their managers. Mistakes will be made and bad employees will be hired...hopefully someone who can fix problems will get the message and do so...but, sadly, it doesn't always happen.
OK...how does this really relate to Las Vegas...well, if there is any place on earth that has a larger service industry, I don't know where it is. And it really can't be easy to find good people to fill all those jobs when the talent is spread so thin. People (and hotels) make compromises just to put people in the uniforms and they have to...sad, but true. It must, at times, be an absolutely thankless job.
So...I guess I just wanted to rant on those topics because maybe it will help a few people understand the bad things that sometimes happen. Is it an excuse? No...but it is an explanation. I'm sure there are places it rarely does and those places are typically pretty pricey (Four Seasons, Hyatt, Marriott?)...you do get what you pay for sometimes. Anywhere else, you are making compromises of one sort or another...price, location, attractions, etc. Keep that in mind and it is much easier to just enjoy yourself and let the small stuff go. I haven't always stayed in the finest hotels in Las Vegas but I've always enjoyed myself and rarely had a problem that wasn't manageable. You're on vacation...relax.
Hope I didn't step on too many toes with all this "stuff"...frankly, most of the comments apply more to things I've read on other boards or comment areas (tripadvisor, las vegas online, etc.) much more than to the vast majority of people here...who are almost all extremely friendly and helpful...even to people they've never met or even heard of before.
For what it's worth...